Dr.+Heidegger's+Experiment

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment

Point of View: Third person omniscient.

Protagonist: I think all of the characters in the story are the protagonists. Dr. Heidegger, Widow Wycherly, Mr. Gascoigne, Mr. Medbourne, and Colonel Killigrew.

What type of character is the Protagonist? Round, dynamic.

Antagonist: I think the antagonist of the story, is again all of the characters because the conflict is internal.

Describe the setting Where: The story took place in Dr. Heidegger’s house. When: The story took place in the early to mid 1800’s, because the author, Nathanial Hawthorne, died in 1864. Mood: The mood of the story was tense, then switched to excited and happy once they drank the potion.

Type of Conflict: I think the type of conflict in the story was internal, Man vs Self, because the only thing they’re struggling with is themselves, because they want to be young and are fighting aging. The struggle is internal, and they are also fighting their mentalities about growing older.

Describe the main conflict: The main conflict of the story is when the four people drink the potion and become youthful again. I think this is the main conflict, because during that time, they all transform into their younger selves and act the way they used to.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The climax of the story is when the vase full of water from the Fountain of Youth is spilt, and the four people transform into the older versions of themselves again. That is also the turning point of the story, because after that they can no longer drink the water from the fountain of youth to make themselves young again.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The protagonists change over the course of the story from being old mentally and physically, and seem to be defeated, to becoming more lively and energetic once they drink the potion. Even after they transform back into their older selves, they are more passionate and determined, mostly because they desperately want to find the fountain of youth to become young again.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. I think the theme of the story is that you can’t fight nature, because everyone grows older, and there’s no way to prevent it. The theme relates to the title, Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, because Dr. Heidegger’s experiment consisted of taking four people, all of which are fighting aging, and giving them a chance to become young again, against nature, because that is what they all want most.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict of the story was them drinking the water from the fountain of youth, and then becoming old again when the vase full of water broke. This illustrates the theme because the theme is that you can’t change the natural course of life, even though the characters didn’t learn that in the story.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax was when the vase broke and the water spilt, and they grew old again. This illustrates the theme because it shows no matter how you try to delay it, you cannot stop life and aging.

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile: “…a small round table, as black as ebony..”

Metaphor: “Skeleton in the closet” is a metaphor for keeping old secrets that you don’t want to remember or for anyone to find out about.

Personification: “ The picture of the young lady had stepped one foot upon the floor….” This is personification because it gives the painting movement.

Symbol: The rose that was given to Dr. Heidegger by his fiancée symbolizes her everlasting love for him. No matter how shriveled the rose was, it never fell apart.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): When the people were younger, they were all wealthy and ambitious. This is foreshadowing that if they ever became young again, they would take advantage of that and turn back into their younger selves. Example: “Colonel Killigrew had wasted his best years, and his health and substance, in pursuit of sinful pleasures…”

Irony: It is ironic how they promised themselves and each other that when they drank the water from the fountain of youth they would keep their wisdom and their maturity, but when they did became young again, they turned back into the younger versions of themselves, doing the same things and fighting over Widow Wycherly. Example: “Mr. Medbourne was involved in a calculation of dollars and cents…”

Imagery: “The sunshine came through the window, between the heavy festoons of two faded damask curtains, and fell directly across the vase; so that the mild splendor was reflected from the ashen visages of the five old people who sat around.”

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The course of life is powerful, something no one can overcome. Even though they drank the potion, they became old again because they could not overcome the power of aging and growing older. It’s the natural way of life and they should all embrace it.

1. According to Dr. Heidegger, what is the purpose of his experiment?

The purpose of his experiment is to see how people act once they regain their youth temporarily. In the case of his friends, they acted the same ways that they did when they were young, regardless of them assuring Dr. Heidegger and themselves that they would keep their wisdom.

2. What do Dr. Heidegger's friends have in common? How does each of them behave during the experiment?

Each of Dr. Heidegger's friends are all old and are bitter about being old. They act extremely elderly, and seem to miss their youthful days. They all seem to wish they were young again and say that when they drink the potion they will keep their maturity but regain their youth. Once they drank the potion, they all became young once more and seemed to transform physically as well as mentally into their younger selves. They act the same ways that they did when they were young, such as fighting over Madame Wycherly, and thinking about things such as national glory and people's rights, singing battle songs, and conjuring ways to supply the East Indies with ice, like their younger selves would have.

3. Why does Dr. Heidegger not stoop to bathe his lips in the Fountain of Youth? Do his friends feel the same way? Comment.

Dr. Heidegger does not drink water from the fountain of youth because "for his own part, having had much trouble in growing old, I am in no hurry to grow young again". Later on in the story after the vase full of water from the Fountain of Youth was spilt, he exclaimed that " for if the fountain gushed at my very doorstep, I would not stoop to bathe my lips in it- no though its delirium were for years instead of moments. Such a lesson ye have taught me!" His friends do not feel the same way, since they were quick to take the glasses full of water and drink them. They were eager to regain their youth, and once it was reclaimed, they did not want to give it up again.

4. Who is the narrator of the story? Though he is not a participant in the experiment, the narrator relates all the details. How does he know what happened to the doctor and his friends? How certain of his facts is the narrator?

I think the narrator of the story might have actually been a sixth person in the room that evening. Although none of the characters speak or interact with him in the story, he talks as though he knows the characters and is involved in their pasts rather than just telling the story. He might have been a friend or an associate with all five of the other people, since he seems to know all about them and their pasts. He seems extremely certain about everything that happened in the story, so that kind of reassures that he was there. He seems as though he was there, but is relaying the events to another person. Although he was there, I don't think he drank the water from the fountain of youth, because he just describes how the others react once they have drunken, not what it feels like to him.

5. What points are made about youth and aging in the story. Do you agree with the views in the story? Comment.

In the story, aging is viewed as negative, and once you lose your youthfulness, your life is over. Basically throughout the story all of the characters, except Dr. Heidegger, seem to hate being old and want desperately to be young again. The four who drank the youth potion all despised their age, and gladly gave it up. I don't really agree with the views in the story, because I think aging is a good thing, and although it's fun to be young, you gain wisdom as you age, as well as life experience. You can't get those when you're young, and I think the characters should have embraced their maturity and aging rather than resist it.

7. Some scientists hope to develop a vaccine against aging. They speculate that human beings could then live approximately 800 years. Do you feel this is desirable? Explain your answer.

No, I don't think this is desirable, because we were built with a time limit for reason. People aren't meant to live for 8 centuries and there are tons of reasons why. Natural resources would be used up much faster with the giant population explosion, and this would happen so fast that science probably wouldn't catch up fast enough to fix that and all the other problems that would occur. Also, there are some people that wouldn't want to live forever, and some of them would probably be people you know. I wouldn't want to live for 800 years, alone without anyone I love. Of course, there are positive traits to this idea. You would be able to get absolutely everything out of live. you would be able to do everything you want to do, go everywhere you want to go, and you wouldn't have to worry about time or about much else. Even with those positive traits, I still don't think that's desirable, and probably would never do that unless everyone else I knew was.

 Completion: 5/5  Effort 5/5  Content: 5/5

 total 15/15

 Questions Completion Mark 5/5

 total 20/20